A change of mind: PTI to freeze Islamabad on November 2 now

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has announced to stage a protest sit-in in the federal capital on November 2 after a party core committee meeting reached a consensus to change the date of its protest on Monday.

Earlier, PTI’s siege was planned for October 30 but then the party decided to change the date.

Speaking to media, Khan warned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the centre of stern consequences if the government tried to stop PTI’s peaceful protest by any means.

He urged people from across the country to come out of their homes and support PTI in its drive against corruption in the country.

The Chairman PTI Imran Khan has already clarified that this time, the siege of the federal capital would continue until the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Khan also told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to face an inquiry into Panama Leaks Papers or give resignation because according to him, “Not without justice, PTI will leave roads in Islamabad.”

Apparently, the party changed its early decision for two reasons: First, due to Muharram and second, the previous date was falling on a Sunday, which would impact the protest.

Panamagate and protest

The Chairman PTI had launched Ehtesab (accountability) Movement in the country against the governing PML-N.

Initially, Imran Khan demanded a probe into the health of the elections 2013, which his party thinks were rigged.

Later names of several Pakistanis including Nawaz Sharif’s children Maryam, Hussain, and Hasan surfaced in one of the world’s biggest ever data leaks through an online searchable database made public by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in April 2016, following which the prime minister had formed an inquiry commission to probe his family’s alleged links to offshore accounts.

Unfortunately, the federal government and the opposition could not agree on drafting joint terms of reference (ToR) for the, which would probe Panama Papers Leaks.

However, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) failed to conduct investigations into the case.

The Chairman PTI later announced to go for a street agitation, demanding Nawaz Sharif to step down as the premier of Pakistan.